University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Public · Moderately Selective · WI

Photo: Germonprez~enwiki (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationWI · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads8,895

Student:faculty19:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate43.9%

6-yr grad rate63.8%

Drop-out rate18.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$10k

Out-of-state tuition$19k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity14.9%

Gender diversity60.3%

International2.2%

Identity—

Overview

UW-Eau Claire is a mid-sized public university in the University of Wisconsin System that punches above its weight for a regional school, built around a walkable campus split by the Chippewa River in western Wisconsin. It has a reputation among Wisconsin publics for undergraduate research participation rates that rival much larger research universities, anchored by CERCA, the university's campus-wide celebration of student research and creative work. Blugolds is the mascot and identity that shows up across campus, and the school carries a strong sense of institutional pride around teaching quality rather than research prestige for its own sake.

Academics

Nursing and music are the signature programs, with the music department's choirs, jazz ensembles, and orchestra drawing national attention and touring reputations well beyond a school its size; the program runs closer to a conservatory-within-a-university than a typical department. The university pushes undergraduate research broadly, not just in the sciences, with education, humanities, and social science students presenting alongside chemistry and biology majors at CERCA each spring. Class sizes stay small enough for direct faculty contact across most majors, and a well-regarded business program and notably high study-abroad participation round out the academic picture.

Campus & student life

The footbridge across the Chippewa River connecting the two halves of campus is the visual signature of the school, and downtown Eau Claire's revitalized riverfront arts scene — the city is also known as the hometown of musician Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), whose Eaux Claires festival grew out of that same music-town identity — gives students an easy walk into a genuinely lively small city. Campus life centers on a close-knit residential community, with music and choral performances functioning almost like the school's version of athletics in terms of student pride, even as Blugolds athletics compete in Division III.

Getting in

Admissions reads as a solid, achievement-based regional public process rather than an elaborate holistic review, with music applicants facing a required audition and nursing applicants sometimes navigating a secondary, capacity-limited admission point into the professional major. The application experience is straightforward compared to private schools of similar quality, and demonstrated interest carries little formal weight.

After graduation

Nursing graduates place strongly into regional health systems, including the Mayo Clinic Health System hospital based in Eau Claire itself, while music graduates go on to graduate conservatories, teaching posts, and performing careers at a rate unusual for a school this size. Business and other graduates tend to stay regionally connected across Wisconsin and the Twin Cities.

Worth knowing

Music students should expect the program to function almost like its own conservatory-within-a-university, with audition requirements and a demanding ensemble culture. The undergraduate research emphasis, formalized through CERCA, is worth knowing for students who want lab or humanities research experience without needing to attend a large research university.

uwec.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate82.3%

Enrolled mid-50%ACT 22–27

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying